Legal Question in Civil Rights Law in Louisiana
I had a two year relationship with my boyfriend whom I met after he was told by the military to leave his residence with the ex wife. He was sleeping on a twin bed and I had a home with a house full of paid furniture. while going through his divorce we decided to live together. We found a house and leased it, sold my paid for furniture and purchased new items for our new home. He purchased a motorcycle in 09 and made payments out of a joint savings account we had. I found a motorcycle like his an 07 Suzuki Boulevard and had it customize behind breast cancer an organization I support. I allowed him to put his name on the title for insurance purposes. It cost me an extreme amount on my own. Never thinking he would want the bike until I desolved the relationship. He tried to file a claim saying I stole the bike through his insurance company which fell through. He tried to file a claim with renters insurance which fell through. I gave him 2 months to try and settle things with me so I could move on. He refused to do so thinking I would change my mind. I found a new place for myself and my kids and boxed up all of his belongings labeled them and put them in storage. I along with a police escort let him clear all of his merchandise out of storage and made sure I let the police view things like his motorcycle in good condition and jewelry, games etc. The furniture we bought together cash, and gifts he gave me I put into storage until we can go to court and resolve the issue. I wanted to know how can I convince a court that my motorcycle was only titled to him for insurance purposes and if not can I countersue him for the bike he paid out of our account together. Can I claim those expenses to bargain with him to relaease the title to my motorcycle. Also, do I have to release any items we bought together or that were purchased for me unless we go to court. He is still trying to settle property settlements with his now ex wife in the same court of law he denied our relationship in fear of loosing visitation rights and custody of his 8 yr old daughter. He is in the military and until you are divorced you are married reguardless of seperation. I just don't want to go through the same things him and his ex are expereinceing. Of course they had a home and other large things. Please help me resolve this issue.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Items purchased for you are gifts and are yours to keep. You will need witnesses, receipts, etc evidence to prove the motorcycle was actually yours dnd not his. The title is strong evidence which has to be overcome. It will be difficult to prove who owns what unless you have receipts and kept everything separate.